Hellraisers Journal – Sunday May 28, 1911 “The Mexican Revolution is at an end. Diaz has resigned.”
From the Appeal to Reason of May 27, 1911:
Diaz Has Resigned ————
Taft Meets with Diaz El Regidor of October 21, 1909
The Mexican revolution is at an end. Diaz has resigned. Sick almost to the point of death, with the entire nation in revolt against him, with an army marching on Mexico City, and with his own advisers presenting a resignation asking his signature, the ancient tyrant finally called: “Bring the resignation; I’ll sign now. You are traitors all.” The resignation was brought, he affixed his signature and the Diaz dynasty was at an end. DeLa Bara was proclaimed provisional president. Madero officially declared the revolution at an end and disbanded his army, and then went to Mexico City to act as advisor to the new president.
This is one story as sent out from Mexico. Others says that Diaz has not yet resigned, but will do so soon. The one fact is clear that he has already lost.
Thus ends a remarkable historical event that was practically inaugurated by the APPEAL TO REASON. When three years ago, the APPEAL began its expose of the Mexican situation, Diaz was deemed impregnable, and almost every capitalist paper in America loudly denounced the Appeal for calling him a tyrant. But the exposure, once began, would not end. An eastern magazine supplemented it, and though it discontinued its expose for some mysterious reason, the light did not fail.
The American government imprisoned refugees from the tyranny of Diaz, Taft visited Diaz and called “him friend ; but the truth could not longer be hidden. Finally the Mexican people summoned sufficient courage to rebel openly. The American army was sent to the border and talk of “American intervention” was rife; but the revolution went right on. It came to the point where the capitalist papers, deserting the old lion and liar, Diaz, told the truth about him. Every charge the APPEAL made has been fully substantiated. Finally the overthrow of the tyrant came. It is the most notable case in history of a newspaper, by its exposure, overthrowing one who had for more than twenty-five years, held dictatorial powers and whose reign was buttressed by the flattery of thousands of beneficiaries of his tyranny in America. The APPEAL Army really did more than Madero’s army.
In the Madero revolution the APPEAL has taken only a minor interest. It has recognized from the start that Madero was a middle-class man and could do no more than establish a capitalistic reign in Mexico. He has accomplished one thing only, namely, the overthrow of the one man rule that belonged to feudalism; and he did it because the time was ripe that it should be done. Taking its place there will come a reign of capitalism, impersonal but just as absolute as was the dictator. There has been an advancement, of course. Capitalism, while tyrannous, is a step ahead of feudalism. The old feudal methods, employing death and imprisonment in the suppression of freedom of speech and press, will pass away. There will be a nominal effort to end peonage, the form of exploitation that belongs to feudalism. The Mexican method, with its everlasting mañana and periodical revolution and presidential dictatorship, will give place to modern push and nominal republican forms. Thus far, the revolution has done its work and is at an end.
But in another sense, the revolution has only begun. Socialism gets its innings when capitalism begins. First, capitalist revolution will come in Mexico, and following that will come the social revolution, beginning, in this case, with the capitalist revolution, and moving with extraordinary rapidity because of the fact that capitalism coming late, is organized to the point where it can move rapidly. With this new revolution the APPEAL is more vitally concerned than it was with the capitalist revolution that preceded it, though the APPEAL helped toward the overthrow of Diaz feudalism.
In the new regime in Mexico De La Bara is to be the provisional president until an election can be held, and may be the elected president. He was the Mexican minister to the United States, and while here was in frequent consultation with Morgan and other American financiers. He, better than any other Mexican, understands the demands of American capitalists, and may be expected to accede to them. In this sense, the conquest of Mexico by the Morgan interests has already been accomplished, and the massing of troops on the border accomplished the result desired.
The APPEAL says the conquest is by the Morgan interest, because it understands why Morgan, as head of the steel trust, was more anxious than anyone else to secure the dominance of American influence in Mexico.Lower California is said to be a vast deposit of iron in the form of gravel, which can be scooped up. Unless the steel trust can secure control of it, its domination will be threatened. If it does secure this control, its future is assured. The placing of De La Bara on the presidential chair assures this control. It heads the practical conquest of Mexico. The handful of Socialists who are conducting an independent revolution in Lower California, will be crushed now. The Socialist innings come later.
The revolution has grown so great in Mexico that ordinarily it would be impossible to stop it now. But Madero, being made ‘”advisor” of the new president, will be able to give his officers positions that will cause them to favor peace; and if this will not suffice, threat of American intervention will very quickly restore “order.” The days of armed rebellion are over in Mexico, just as they are over in the United Staes.
But the days of agitation and peaceful revolution have only begun. The Morgan crowd will use Mexico as an ally in waging the battle against unionism in the United States, at Tampa, in Westmoreland county. Pa., and at Los Angeles, but Socialists also will now begin to make Socialists inMexico. The fight is simply made bigger. When the final victory comes, the victory will be the greater and the result will be the more secure because it embraces more territory and more people.
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[Photograph and emphasis an paragraph breaks added.]
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